Nation

Missing MH370: Out-of-this-world theories abound

Prayers from India: Members of an Indian human rights organisation taking part in a candlelight vigil for the well-being of the passengers and crew of the missing Flight MH370 in Amritsar, India. - EPA

MALACCA: Forget hijacking or technical ­problems – some people are just adamant that the missing Flight MH370 was stolen by genies or aliens.

Investigators, including the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and the police, looking into the mystery of the missing aircraft have been constantly bombarded by e-mails and letters by a number people dead certain their theories are correct.

An investigator from the DCA said the authorities were forced to spend far too much time and effort in dealing with these people who contact them non-stop.

He cited the recent case of a 42-year-old woman from Batu Caves who called his team and said the plane had been stolen by a genie, which it later gave to militants at a remote site in New Delhi, India.

“I do not understand how these people can honestly expect us to believe such far-fetched stories,” he said.

Another out-of-this-world theory came from a factory supervisor who claimed that he had a premonition that aliens had taken over the aircraft and were keeping it safe in a Muslim country.

The investigator said the DCA director-­general’s special officer Zulazri Mohd Anuar, 33, even had to lodge a police report against one of the “informers” when an anonymous indivi­dual threatened to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak directly if the DCA failed to entertain his theory.

“More time was wasted when we checked out a theory by a sales executive from Penang who claimed that the plane was at an abandoned airport in Pulau Weh, Indonesia.

“He even provided us with GPS coordinates but there was nothing there.

“People really need to be more considerate and keep their wild theories to themselves,” he said.